India vs Afghanistan 3rd T20I Full Commentary

We are back for the chase! The players are already out in the middle. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are the two openers for Afghanistan. Nitish Kumar Reddy will start proceedings with the ball. Here we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

The struggle and the fightback - Afghanistan opted to bowl first, but India's openers quickly tore into the attack after Fazalhaq Farooqi's five-run first over. The onslaught finally ended when Rashid Khan broke the 142-run stand in the 10th over, before adding a sharp run-out soon after. From there, the visitors pulled things back, denying India's middle order easy runs and picking up regular wickets. Afghanistan were excellent in the field too, producing a couple of more direct hits. Azmatullah Omarzai claimed two while Abdollah Ahmadzai chipped in with one, helping Afghanistan claw their way back after a difficult start. Now, it is up to their batters to express themselves freely and try to hunt this target down. Join us in a bit for the second essay.

Abhishek's record ton sets up India's big total - India's openers went berserk from the outset, with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge and Sanju Samson playing second fiddle at a brisk rate. The duo raced to 100 in six overs, India's highest-ever Powerplay score in T20Is. Abhishek continued the assault, smashing the fastest T20I hundred by a player from a Test-playing nation in just 30 balls, with 11 sixes, before falling for 108. Sanju Samson notched up his fifty, but from 142/1 at the halfway mark, India slipped to 186/4 in the 16th over as the middle order failed to make the most of their starts, with Shreyas Iyer's 29 off 20 the highest score. They had clearly lost their rhythm and could not produce the late flurry they would have wanted.

Afghanistan finish strongly after early setback - India have posted a big total, but given where they stood at the halfway stage and the explosive start from their openers, they would have expected a lot more. Credit to Afghanistan for staying in the contest, pulling things back impressively in the second half and refusing to let India run away with it. They conceded just 20 runs in the final three overs, a superb way to finish the innings. Afghanistan will take confidence from that fightback and feel they are still very much in the hunt.

Run out number 3 for India in this innings. Ravi Bishnoi is the next man in, but he won't be on strike.

Fazalhaq Farooqi will bowl the final over. Can he keep India under 225?

Axar Patel comes out to the middle.

Abdollah Ahmadzai will bowl the penultimate over.

Another one bites the dust. Nitish Kumar Reddy walks out to bat.

With 3 overs left and India already going past 200, they will be aiming to get to 250, with still batting firepower left in the tank. Also, here is Fazalhaq Farooqi to bowl now.

Over and out from the capital - And with that, the curtains come down on a one-sided three-match T20I series, as the Men in Blue complete a dominant 3-0 sweep. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have a lot of soul-searching to do. India now turn their attention to the next white-ball assignment, which promises to mark another historic beginning. They will travel to the Land of the Rising Sun for a one-off T20I against Japan, opening a brand-new chapter in the growing cricketing landscape on Tuesday, September 22. Afghanistan will also head to Japan for the Asian Games, where they will begin their group stage campaign against Japan on Thursday, September 24. India have earned a direct qualification to the quarter-finals there. But for now, you can switch tabs to follow all the updates from the second T20I between England and Sri Lanka from Cardiff. Cheers.

Friendship Cup, living up to its name - Shreyas Iyer receives the trophy from DDCA president Rohan Jaitley, with Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran joining him for the presentation. The pair then carry it towards the WINNERS board, where the Indian players are eagerly waiting for their winning photographs. And what a heartwarming moment this is! The Indian players invite Ibrahim to join their celebrations, turning a team photograph into a beautiful display of camaraderie and friendship. This has been a historic series in many ways, with Afghanistan serving as the hosts on Indian soil. Ibrahim now steps away as the Indian support staff comes in to pose for the photographs.

The victorious Indian captain - Shreyas Iyer says he would not describe India's approach as bullying, pointing out that Afghanistan had come to India to host the series. He adds that India knew they would be batting first and did well to put up a challenging total. Reckons it was not an easy wicket, but the way Abhishek played, it was pleasing to the eye. On Axar Patel's contribution in the Powerplay, Iyer says Axar had done it in the past and had continued to perform consistently in that phase over the years.

The captain of Afghanistan - Ibrahim Zadran reflects on this defeat. He admits that it was really disappointing. Quickly adds that he was pleased to see the intent in the Powerplay. Tonight's problem, in his view, came down to losing wickets in clusters. He admits the team has been thinking hard about how to carry that intent through an entire innings rather than just the start. He admits that there have been a series or two of struggles along the way, but backs the process to pay off with time, stressing that without intent, competing with the top international sides simply isn't possible. On getting more opportunities to play against stronger teams, Zadran notes that this was Afghanistan's first T20I series since the World Cup after a long gap. He says the team needs to play more matches and series, particularly against the top-ranked sides, to improve their level. Says while Afghanistan do play against teams such as Zimbabwe and Ireland, he believes regular contests against the biggest teams would help them progress further. Speaking about Axar Patel's ability to bowl in the Powerplay, Zadran says the Indian all-rounder has done it successfully in the past and continued to deliver in critical situations. He adds that Axar thinks deeply about his game and knows when the team needs him to step up.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH AND SERIES - ABHISHEK SHARMA takes home both awards for his consistent batting display. He scored a blazing 108 off just 34 balls ​​​​​​tonight. Overall, he scored 229 runs in the series at an insane strike rate of 269.41. Abhishek Sharma says the team had been following an aggressive approach for the last two years and that one or two poor series would not define them as a batting unit. He adds that the focus had always been on dominating throughout the year ahead of the World Cup, regardless of the opposition. Abhishek acknowledges that performances can go up and down for a cricketer, but says the team's momentum, mindset and ability to stay united and focus on the next game had been crucial to their approach. On producing hundreds despite his high-risk style, Abhishek says it had all come down to trusting the process and being clear about which bowlers he wanted to take on. He adds that playing in such a manner required the backing of the coach and captain, and feels that support had allowed the team to follow this approach for the last few years. Abhishek says he did not want to restrict any particular area of the ground and instead wanted to express himself by watching the ball and hitting it. He underlines that success could not be guaranteed every time, but says India had built a culture around maximising the Powerplay and continuing to play with the same intent.

... The post-match Presentation ...

Abhishek blitz, then a blank - India blasted off to 184/3 in 15 overs, built almost entirely on carnage from Abhishek Sharma, who tore into the Afghan attack for a 30-ball century, the fastest in the format's history by a batter from a Test-playing nation. Sanju Samson chipped in nicely too with a fifty of his own, but once both fell, the innings lost all its rhythm, with Iyer and the others unable to find any real timing. Afghanistan did manage to claw their way back through the last five overs, defending superbly to restrict India to 221. They were near flawless in the field to boot, pulling off three run-outs along the way. Rashid Khan had a hand in almost every wicket, whether with the ball or in the field, while Abdollah Ahmadzai enjoyed a decent debut to remember.

Sizzling bowling display - Indeed it was, and Shreyas Iyer's captaincy deserves its share of credit too. With the pace pair of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Yash Thakur going for a bit in their opening spells, Iyer wasted no time turning to spin in the Powerplay. And Axar Patel repaid the faith instantly, striking twice in his very first over. From there, it was a complete unraveling of Afghanistan's batting spine. Bumrah delivered his special yorker, which consumed Rasooli, while Bishnoi switched it up further with a three-wicket haul of his own. But the real wrecker-in-chief turned out to be Nitish Kumar Reddy, who returned to strike thrice in a single over and killed the game off then and there.

A recurring problem - It was a bright start for Afghanistan in the chase, but the same script from the first two games played out once more. A promising opening undone by a total collapse. 31 without loss unraveled into 94 all out, and barring Ibrahim Zadran, not a single batter got past 20, with three others stalling in the teens, never quite comfortable enough to turn starts into something meaningful. This is turning out to be a worrying trend for them in the shortest format, as this time, they couldn't even cross triple figures. A serious issue that they need to address as quickly as possible before their upcoming assignments.

At the peak of their powers - The T20 World Champions hand Afghanistan a crushing defeat, sealing a 3-0 series sweep in the process. Yet another comfortably one-sided finish for the Men in Blue. It was their away series at home, with Afghanistan hosting it in the Indian capital, but on Indian soil, they have been an absolutely dominant force, not losing any T20I series since February 2019. Plenty of question marks now hang over Afghanistan. They were comprehensively outplayed with the bat, with their batting vulnerabilities surfacing again and again throughout the course of this three-match series. The wait for a first T20I win over India goes on, for the time being at least.

An exceptional bowling spell from Nitish. Started off by conceding 15 runs off his first over, and then roared back by picking up three wickets. 3/25 in 4 overs for him tonight.

Fazalhaq Farooqi is the last man in.

India can see the finish line now. Abdollah Ahmadzai comes out to the middle.